The pupils of the Tendai school used to
study
meditation before Zen
entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one
another to observe seven days of silence.

On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun
auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one
of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: "Fix those lamps."

The second pupil was surprised to hear th first one talk. "We are not
supposed to say a word," he remarked.

"You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third.

"I am the only one who has not talked," concluded the fourth pupil.
It can be very difficult for
people
in Western culture to be silent. This is especially true for any person who talks for a living, such as a
Columbus criminal defense attorney.
Generally Westerners have a negative view towards silence, where members of Eastern cultures tend to embrace it.